Overview
- Max Holloway defeated Dustin Poirier by unanimous decision in the UFC 318 main event at the Smoothie King Center to keep the BMF championship.
- Holloway landed 201 significant strikes to Poirier’s 109, scoring knockdowns in both the first and second rounds to claim his first win in their trilogy.
- Dustin Poirier confirmed that UFC 318 would be his final professional bout, retiring with a 30-10 record and landmark victories over fighters like Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje.
- The symbolic BMF belt, created for marquee non-divisional matchups, remains with Holloway as he solidifies his standing among the UFC’s elite strikers.
- UFC’s return to New Orleans provided a fitting close to a rivalry that began in 2012 and featured an interim-title rematch in 2019 before Poirier’s farewell fight.